Mercury Retrograde at 2 Scorpio

A barn raising in Lansing (now North York City Centre) Toronto, Canada

(photo credit Alexander W Galbraith/c. 1900-19, photo courtesy of City of Toronto Archives)

I was stiff when I got up this morning - unusually so, even for an injured person. Figuring there's nothing to do but cope, I went about my business... turning on the television, setting water on for tea...

It didn't take all that long to realize that even for Los Angeles, traffic was particularly rancid this morning.

Putting it together, it makes sense: Mercury has moved on station as of October 2nd to go retrograde on October 4th at 5:03 in the evening, UT/+0 time - and in having done so within some rather evident proximity to the Aries Lunar Eclipse which will occur on October 8th we're getting very personal, physical, situational effects.

Expect such things to keep happening. The Mercury part of this (read: the motion, the thought, the exchange of information or conversation) will ease out of the energetic equation as of the 6th or so (as Mercury's station allowance runs out)... but at that point we're very much into the heart of the incoming eclipse, which in being lunar is very much about emotionality (the experience/effects of) as well as anything which evokes a feeling response.

Which is a rather all-encompassing sort of statement, I know. But then, this is emotionality - the 'where humans live.' As I have asserted elsewhere and experienced in first person reality, human life is an emotional thing. We're emotional creatures. How we feel determines whether we will even get to those lofty, respectable, well-structured thoughts we all like to think we can rely on.

(And isn't it sad how we're so often wrong about that?)

In going retrograde at 2 Scorpio, Mercury is asking us to be use that part of our nature - and also our thinking nature. It's asking that we be responsible in taking charge of our own most human nature. There seems to be some necessity for disappointment with this degree, as if only through failure can we resolve ourselves to our Self as a human person and proceed on that basis.

You know, as the mortal, not the icon, real or imagined.

As for the emotionality which tends to arise at this time, it tends to be very positive or negative and not all that much betwixt or between. Imaged by the Sabian symbol 'a house-raising part in a small village enlists the neighbor's cooperation' 2 Scorpio references both acceptance and it's opposition - rejection and marginalization - plus all the various types of protections (the house) which goes or doesn't go with same.

Then again, there's a Mercury/Neptune factor here as Mercury is going into retrograde in trine to Neptune - a sign that there may be...or have been...some compromise of clarity or truth in the works - all of which seems strikingly in keeping with Royal/fixed star Aldebaran having just moved from 9 to 10 Gemini (Gemini being a Mercury-ruled sign) as of yesterday, October 1st. (See previous post.)

Mercury seeks to clarify - either through mentality (the Gemini way) or through how something is done (or what gets done) - that being more of the Virgo/Mercury solution. But when Neptune and Mercury are in aspect, Neptune's famous 'is it real...is it not real?' qualities of illusion - willful or otherwise - create complications. Confusion. Even out and out lies.

Or, of course, the exposure of same.

So some who have been deceived will discover now. Some who have been deceivers will be laid bare now. All such moments could happen in a snap... or they may 'come to be' over time, which is to say through whatever occurs during Mercury's three weeks in apparent 'reverse.'

Reverses of circumstance, reversals of decisions... we are likely to see/experience many changes of course (charted and otherwise) in these weeks ahead. In going retrograde at 2 Scorpio Mercury's position theoretically supports and enhances our realization... even our understanding/need to understand all the many and varied forms of trial and human ugliness which have been surfacing of late. That Mercury both starts and ends this retrograde period in trine to Neptune combines rather well with the image of the Scorpio eclipse both as a notice as to how we have been 'kidding ourselves' (aka lying to ourselves) or simply where we've been being irresponsible.

To our Self/selves, that is. The single and ultimate plural are both implied here, so there is the You and then there is the Everyone, with virtually nothing between. Given next week's lunar eclipse there is-was-will be many an issue which concerns guidelines and success is attained generally/most often through a basic agreement to (as they say) 'play by the rules.' Problems will occur through trust placed in the wrong people, with such alliances generally based in convenience rather than anything else.

But still, it all counts.

Also - considering how 15 Aries (the degree of the lunar eclipse) has a known tendency to produce the thing we fear through the very energetic of fearing it, this is a time to control our indulgence of our own emotionality. With Mercury going retrograde, some matters will/should be reflected on most thoroughly with an eye to understanding the full spectrum of emotions which may lie behind the urge to do or say something. That Mercury's station is in Scorpio will drive a desire to 'control the conversation' (and thus the emotions and emotionality in place) but to do such a thing - to attempt to manipulate or control are likely to somehow come to naught, most often for reasons which are not all that apparent at this time.

You'll just have to wait, in other words.

Speaking of the post just before this one - that being about Aldebaran's move to 10 Gemini - Aldebaran is, of course, the fixed star which promises success ONLY if we uphold (or establish) standards of integrity. So that Aldebaran is making this move as Mercury goes on station puts a little Mercury in the Aldebaran quotient (lending a quality of vulnerability - ours - to our own insecurities as part of our process) and lends a little Aldebaran to the Mercury station.

In other words, don't be surprised if integrity fouled begins to produce karma.

By the time Mercury reaches its station/direct point on October 25th (UT/+0), the Sun will have eclipsed and we will be not just be ready to move on, we will already be in the process of moving on. (Solar eclipses are odd like that - so often we recognize what they're 'about' only after they occur.) And because Mercury's 16 Scorpio station/direct effects will begin on October 23-24 (depending on where you are) we're seeing Mercury involved with both eclipses - one at either end of its retrograde. Hopefully 16 Scorpio will manifest with on the positive side - which 16 Scorpio is noted for, though its traits of reliability, honor and courage can/will obviously be seen as positive to some and (simultaneously) as trouble to others.

As always, that choice will be ours. The Scorpio (Mercury) component here is always about choice, with our choice always being whether we are willing to treat and experience others as equals. (In other words, it's what you do/don't do which counts...and why you do or don't do it.) Since Scorpio is not about 'them' and what 'they' are doing but rather about whether we're able to be honest with our Self about our Self, what we have earned now survives, doing so through validation, interaction, connection and mutual support.

And what about what we have not earned? That begins to cool and grow less appealing, whether in our Mercurial regard or that of others.

One last thought... in going retrograde in conjunction with asteroid Lumiere while also trine Neptune it is likely that at least part of what we are not seeing (or being willing to believe or accept) is something we also regard as 'a light' [Lumiere] in our life.

What that means and why it means whatever it means to us is at least part of why this Mercury retrograde has come along. And while it is true that Mercury/Neptune can represent 'the lie,' they can also represent that hope, that thing we hold onto in order to get ourselves through something.

Which is which, you ask?

That's individual. However... as we also know that when Mercury goes direct on October 25th (UT/+0) it will be doing so in conjunction with asteroid Lilith (what I deny or ignore in or about my own life) and Typhon, an emblem of something very basic and very primal. We also know that this October 25th station will occur in relating/relationship-oriented Libra and at one of Libra's more feeling and inspiring degrees (16 Libra).

What this 'spells' (if you will) is an opportunity to learn something about ourselves over these next few weeks which in recognizing will break through our reluctance to understand ourselves in conjunction with others. That, plus Aldebaran's shift plus the idea how by October 25th the Sun, Venus and Pallas (wisdom born of a logical, dispassionate perspective) will either release us to be our kinder (16 Libra) Self or put us in position to be open to that which happens then.

Or it may glue us utterly in place, forcing us to see how our personal short-sightedness (read: self-concern, self-focus) has now hindered our various goals.

After all, apart from all the missed phone calls, distracted conversations, mental headaches, sloppy/botched efforts, losses and mistakes, delays of schedule and endless interruptions so common with any (and every) Mercury retrograde regardless of sign, in a sense Mercury retrograde is all about getting our inner house in order so that we are ready to be graced with all which happens in retrograde's wake. Mercury retrogrades are famous (infamous, actually) for putting us through something which only comes clear just after Mercury goes direct.

And then there's the retrograde shadow. Mercury entered the shadow of its retrograde over the weekend of September 13-14 (depending on what time zone you were in) a won't exit that shadow until November 10th. So while the actual retrograde period may feel the most 'retrograde-like' (putting us on the spot with our Self), there is a greater if rather more 'shadowy' (meaning 'less apparent') implication of some process which spans this entire arc - and which, at least in the short (next three month/lunar eclipse) run is likely to feel terribly, terribly important.

The only thing is that in reality, it's not. And that's where we may be kidding ourselves - a concept we may profit long term by remembering not to forget.
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Aldebaran @ 10 Gemini (2014-2086)

 Constellation Taurus

(image generated using Stellarium software)

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There are a lot of famous stars, though what they’re famous for (and who made them famous) varies. Astrology certainly has its share of same, for sure - though even among astrologers there are a group of stars which seem to take stage center front more often than not.

Those stars are known as the Royal Stars of Persia. The complete list of Royal Stars is several dozen names long, but of those we use all the time, none seems any more important than Aldebaran.

All Royal Stars promise success IF (and only if) some particular human foible is avoided. With Aldebaran, that challenge regards integrity - most specifically, the not violating of one’s integrity.

This makes astrological sense of a rather important type when we think of Aldebaran as a star which sits at the heart of the zodiac constellation known as Taurus.

You know, Taurus values - what we value and what we are valued for against all our insecurities and vulnerabilities.

All of which gets tested out through our various Adventures Scorpionic. You know... like the 0 Scorpio solar eclipse about to occur on October 23rd (UT/+0)?

For decades now (many plural decades) Aldebaran has been sitting at 9 Gemini, a degree which tends to involve us in very complex issues and ideas, occasionally causing us to outsmart (or scare) ourselves in the process. Known for amazing thought processes which tend not to lead to accomplishment under the influence of this degree, Aldebaran’s having been positioned at 9 Gemini since September 1943 suggests that when it comes to what we’ve created or begun to understand or harness hasn’t even really begun paying off.

Imagine that.

Considering all that, is it logical or philosophically reasonable to think that just as Aldebaran is about to change degrees it would represent the pressure and squeezing of us, each and all, getting us to give up (cough up, let go of) that which is so futile... that which will not ever bear the dreamed of fruit?

It often works that way with planets. Why not stars?

In any case, now Aldebaran’s ‘integrity required’ directive is moving to 10 Gemini. The date the change occurs is October 2nd (UT/+0), and the degree ‘ten’ in any sign is one which includes an experience of.. or embodying of... some sort/amount of feeling(s). In a sign known for dispassionate perspective, 10 Gemini somehow ‘breaks’ that mold by being known for its strong compassion and desire to uphold justice (and correct injustices) which given Aldebaran’s presence speaks to an undercurrent we are going to hear a lot about (and feel in our own lives) over the seven or so decades.

During that time we will each meet up with many ways which ask us to connect with and uphold the concept of compassion, injustice, reform and so on.

And because Aldebaran will be in 10 Gemini, we are required to uphold standards of universal integrity. That means that things many people have ‘gotten away with’ up until now will no longer work. Corner-cutting or bypassing which has been accepted prior to now will either not be accepted/acceptable, or not work - to substantial (even great) cost.

This is a degree of beginnings - and evidently the need to begin with integrity, and to build or progress with ever more integrity. This is a degree of insight, which with Aldebaran at 10 Gemini suggests that one of our tests is going to be knowing the limits of integrity as a concept, for though we will understand much in the years ahead, not all of it will be what we’d like.

Aldebaran ‘travels’ in zodiacal opposition to another of the Royal Stars, a star which goes by the name of Antares and whose test involves obsession.

Don’t do it, in other words. Where Antares is concerned, obsession - which in this case is coming from Sagittarius (the “I Know the Truth and What’s Right”) undermines ultimate success.

(Ours, that is.)

In perfect opposition for these past more-than-several decades (and thus in the natal charts of everyone born since 1944) this Aldebaran-Antares dynamic is our challenge to find our passion... and the need to remain aware of our limits. That balance is in each chart and each life... and now that which was spinning like a gyroscope is going to begin to wobble -- just a bit, and just for a few years as Antares will also change degrees as of 2017, re-establishing a sense of inner directives.

But it’s could be a bit lumpy for the next few years. Things don’t have to be wildly out-of-round, but they will inflict on us a sense of being just barely out-of-balance. The smart money being on remembering this fact when things go wonky, it is to be expected that a lot of people (from every walk of life) are going to be flailing just a touch... or now and again... as they attempt to control that which cannot be controlled.

To typify this star as a more familiar sort of energy, one might call it assertion. But it’s more than that. Aldebaran represents the making of a point and the understanding of some point.

It also represents the need to simply know - not because we want to be right, but rather as a matter of living a life in which information doesn’t just allow us to make better choices but which requires of us to do that ‘right’ thing (live up to our own standards of integrity) and to that which is right because that’s simply the right thing to say, think or ultimately, do.
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Astrologer's Diary: Mercury in Scorpio, Venus in Libra

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I feel like I'm in a race against the solar eclipse. As I've told you, I have a back injury. And try as I may, it's amazingly hard to get help for it.This is not about naming names or pointing fingers... it's about a serious physical need on my part and a dismal amount of systemic and individual unwillingness to take responsibility for what one is supposed to take responsibility for (since that's what you're doing) going around.

All such moments (people, situations, choices)...and I'm sure you're either running into it or embodying it (whether out of necessity or preference)...reflects the October 23rd solar eclipse at 0 Scorpio.

Hence my race. That eclipse can't get here and gone in my book. (And yes, there is great irony to saying you're running any race when your problem is a back injury.) However... with that duly quipped (I'll be telling jokes on my death bed, no doubt), before I contemplate surrendering to being horizontal, here are a few thoughts Mercury moving into Scorpio and Venus entering Libra which may be tasty or tasteful enough to chew on:

Mercury is entering Scorpio late on the 27th at 10:40 in the evening (UT/+0 time) and Venus will enter Libra on September 29th at 8:53 in the evening, UT/+0 time.

These two signs (Libra and Scorpio) occur in succession (Libra then Scorpio). As with any two adjacent signs, this means their tone (element) and nature or mode of activity (modality) is entirely different. Mercury entering Scorpio is all about passionate thinking and feeling our way into issues. Or feeling because of issues.

Meanwhile Venus is entering Libra - the sign which most exemplifies the whole Venusian (Aphrodite) 'beauty' idea.

And idea is the thing, too. It's the idea of what beauty is... or what we would like, this Venusian move. On one hand it supports grace in (and of) conversation. It's an opportunity to be creative and when much can come of what you otherwise might think is something easy.

On the other, Venus in Libra can be lazy (think 'languid,' but in an uglier, more irresponsible light). Venus in Libra can also be charming. Or graciously demanding in that curious way no one even thinks to frown at or resist.

With Mercury's having entered Scorpio, there's likely to be some sort of 'subterranean' atmosphere - the aura of wanting to know (or) wanting to play your cards carefully/close to the vest, whether that's needed particularly or not.

That's right - we could be fooling ourselves about how good OR bad something is simply because we're far too over-focused, a quality which is likely to infiltrate everyone's thinking and feel less than pleasant (!!!) as Mars (in Sagittarius) comes into semi-sextile with Pluto (in Capricorn) just as Mercury changes signs.

The 'solution' here is in keeping with all semi-sextiles: we are going to feel 'offended' and yet, to act solely on that (to allow ourselves to 'operate in the reactive,' as it were) only makes things worse. Semi-sextiles, in this case whether that of Mercury-to-Venus' Libra/Scorpio combination or this other Mars/Pluto (Sagittarius/Capricorn) tend not to indicate  comfortable moments. But they are just that - moments.

And another thing... in stirring up Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn, this pair of semi-sextiles is combining to effect a complete and continuous image of one-third of the zodiac - the operative interactive and worldly third of the zodiac - being involved in challenging processes of an interactive nature.

Any time Pluto and Mars connect by transit there's a generous quality of focus/over-focus which gets lobbed into our works. In this case, the prime/most intense period for same begins (in earnest) during the latter part of the day on September 29th (UT/+0). From there it will extend into October 1st - but the repercussions and effects of this time will continue to evolve for most of two months.

You know... through the solar eclipse and beyond, a fact made all the more poignant by the fact that Pluto is the 'outcome ruler' of Scorpio, sign of said eclipse.

Prepare for more unearthing of whatever is very wrong - in the world, yes... but even more than that terms of who we are and why we value and devalue others most of all. Through bringing out all the many ways our interactions aren't working this eclipse - as part of the plural-year Scorpio eclipse sequence now being completed - we are being asked to consider what our most basic values are and whether we are inclined (or even able) to relate to our own sense of weakness with as much perspective and in-depth consideration as that we tend to apply to others, however we relate to them.

Then there's the fact that Libra is a cardinal sign, which can indicate promptness, wit and being in the right place at the right time...or impatience, demands of nature and a general tendency to downgrade someone or something simply because we want what we want at the moment, whether it's important or not.

Against this, Scorpio is a fixed sign... and fixed signs live up to the idea of being 'fixed in place' rather well. Even half-past well - at a level which is all about wanting your own way because the idea of having to feel someone else get their way or deal with someone else getting to dictate to us isn't anything we want to face.

But nothing is forever in this formulation as Mercury's about to go retrograde. (I know... you're just jazzed, right?) The start of said retrograde is October 4th at 5:03 in the afternoon (UT/+0 time) with Mercury at 2 Scorpio, a degree which asks whether we are willing to take on the responsibilty of getting past our own challenges - challenges which are defined as intense and intensely testing of us on the inside.

Think 'do I have faith in my Self?' 

It will take Mercury a full week to move back through three degrees and re-enter Libra (on October 11th) - an indication that things are generally 'sticky,' probably within and without. There is an 'up' side here however... once everything shakes out the next (almost) two weeks will have both Mercury and Venus in Libra, giving us time to get a lot done - none of which is worldly or highly apparently.

The actual nature of this time is self-reflective. And it's during this self-reflective period with its flashes of forward insight and moments of recognition with regards to why something doesn't work that the solar eclipse occurs.

Oh joy...a solar eclipse under Mercury retrograde. We're being asked to let go of some old idea, some image, some vulnerability we probably cover with a bristling shield of armor. Plus (if you must know)... this incoming eclipse is going to occur in full-fledged conjuction with Venus.

A few values are getting radically changed.

What things are they will not be two-and-a-half years from now. We don't believe it... most of us can't even see it. But it's out there. Something is happening which besides occuring (and probably testing us) in the present is also preparing us for something which will occur a couple of years from now, something which we wouldn't even be prepared to appreciate if we weren't going through all the many things occupying us right now.

And granted, a lot of what's going around now is more than a little trying.

Against which, we're trying. (Hopefully.)

The idea of 'quality' is afoot. To get there, we are each facing our flaws, our weak points, our not-so-universal perspective and whatever tendency we have to insist on having things our way regardless of whether others agree. Or are even safe.

If I can get back here (all puns intended) in any short amount of time (I'm not that tall, so it shouldn't be impossible...) its on the calendar to explore the idea of Aldebaran (the royal star of integrity) moving to 10 Gemini. The date for this shift is October 1st, and as opposed to 9 Gemini (a degree which stresses mentality, mental stress and an indescribable need to be involved at a micro-detail level)... Aldebaran's next position is going to underscore the need to help and protect the poor, the abused, the neglected while doing two other things: 1.) internally recognizing the ills of human nature, complete to why we choose such actions in the name of 'solution' and 2.) requiring of our Self that we not embody those ills, particularly as pertains to others - the more innocent, beleaguered or battered, the more importantly.

Taken all together, yes, this does sound like the approach to a solar eclipse. Chances are we each already know about what is about to be eclipsed, though as yet few of us believe the bond will break, the time will come, that fate will move us on.

But it will. Mostly because by the time we get through the next month or two, we'll see the sense of letting go - not of our Self, but of something we've been clinging to because we think we can be nothing deeply satisfying without it.
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The Royal Stars of Persia (Part One): Aldebaran

 Ottoman miniatrure from the 17th century

 (Istanbul University Library)

.,l.;/

A friend of mine emailed asking about the Royal Stars of Persia. So I decided to write a series of blogs on the subject.

Of said series, this would be Part One.

There are several dozen so-called 'stars of Persia,' those being the brightest stars in the skies of ancient Babylon. And as usual with ancient traditions, there’s some fluffle about whether all or just 'some' royal.

Bottom line, the 'all' part hasn't been solved. But that four of them are considered "royal"? That's established.

Known as the “Watchers in the Sky,” most astrologers think these four stars are important. They're something akin to astrological 'compass points,' if you will. Yes, there are those astrologers who never use fixed stars and who will never used fixed stars.

And let's not go into whether ‘fixed’ stars were ever broken, okay? They weren't. Nor are they really ‘fixed’ in place.

(Been there, blogged that.)

Not to get distracted here, the four stars which are undoubtedly 'Royal Stars' are as follows: Aldebaran, Regulus, Antares and Fomalhaut. This list is is zodiacal order: currently Aldebaran is in Gemini, Regulus just entered Virgo, Antares is in Sagittarius and Fomalhaut is in Pisces.

Known also as Tascheter, Aldebaran is the ‘Watcher of the East’ and therefore – because the Earth turns into the east (sunrise and all that) concerns how we move ahead in life...which seems to fit well with Aldebaran being a traditional star associated with the Vernal equinox – the Aries ingress. Aldebaran is all about the ‘now,’ what we’re doing in the moment and the literal quality we bring to what we’re doing.

Or lack of quality, yes.

l;

 Aldebaran is the brightest star in Taurus,

telling us how important it is to our self-worth

to have - and to live our lives with integrity.

 

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Every Royal Star promises success providing we avoid falling afoul of one particular (usually very mortal) attribute. And with Aldebaran, that attribute is integrity...which very much does concern how you do what you do.

Wherever Aldebaran falls in your natal chart (by house, by aspect to planets, nodes, etc.) that would be where your tests of integrity are going to arise.

Currently in Gemini, that integrity is measured in the quality of our thinking, thoughts and ideas, priorities, standards or organization and choices...the what we learn and how well we learn it, both on the intellectual level and as a piece in a puzzle picturing how life is lived.

You know, the standard Gemini roster.

Since Aldebaran is currently positioned at 9 Gemini (a degree entered in 1938) most folks will have 9 Gemini as Aldebaran's degree in their natal chart - and everyone else (alive, that is) will have it at 8 Gemini.

Since both are first decanate degrees (degrees between zero and 9 of a given sign) that tells us that the Aldebaran 'test of integrity' will come out through what we do and who we are. It also says that since everybody's Aldebaran is in that first decanate that there's one part of the 'Aldebaran test' which is about our holding our Self to a standard...and another part which is prompted or provoked through others and life situations.

Those with Aldebaran at 8 Gemini are likely to be concerned with (and tested on) the repercussions and consequences for their actions. Those with Aldebaran at 9 Gemini encounter tests which are more about the ability to cope (with integrity) when it comes to complex issues which strain us through physical stamina and emotional/internal tolerance.

Part of this Aldebaran test is probably about getting us to think through what we choose to get involved with before we commit to getting involved, which gets back to that old myth about Gemini being a sign which “allows you to just do everything.”

Uh, no. Gemini is about looking everything over and making a choice of what you’re going to do first, carrying that through before you take on something else.

Those who violate the integrity of this Gemini concept are probably having a hard time of late since Aldebaran was hit with by a solar eclipse in  June 2011. Many a reputation crumbled right on the spot. And those built on iffy premises and lacks of priorities and “follow through” have been cracking and falling apart ever since.

And it’s more than that. Since that eclipse, have you noticed how life and society seems to be having a lack-of-integrity free-for-all? Everywhere you look people say stuff and get away with it. That ‘getting away with it’ thing would be Aldebaran being eclipsed.

But then…it’ll only last three years. That’s how long a solar eclipse lasts, which means that as of the middle of 2014, Aldebaran (integrity) is going to start coming back on-line.

Then, come January 2015, Aldebaran will move into 10 Gemini, unveiling a whole new theme. Where 9 Gemini involves complicated problems, 10 Gemini focuses on the plight of the downtrodden and helpless.

(Please Note: that’s helpless, not hapless!)

Interpretation: expect what is expected of us as human beings (provided we want to be respected) to get tougher as of 2015. The bar for integrity, after having been tossed aside is going to be reinstalled and raised in the ‘humane’ human sense.

But for us to get there, it’s probable that for the space ahead there’s going to be a lot of bad behavior – enough to inspire the change.

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 How much need will it take for us to

choose to do the right thing for others,

not just ourselves?

(painting by Hariton Platonov - 1880)

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Yet that’s how astrology works. We see what’s going on by where objects stand. But in the end, its our life here on Earth that we cope with.

Aldebaran entered Gemini in the year 1298 (CE). Considering that it’s only moved just shy of ten degrees in 700 (plus) years, we can’t expect the emphasis on the integrity of human mentality to change for quite some time to come.

HOWEVER…(and this is a big however)…when we get to 2015 and Aldebaran does move into 10 Gemini, it will be leaving Gemini’s first decan (about how our mentality reflects in who we are and what we do) and entering Gemini’s second and more emotionally charged decanate.

So you think rhetoric has already gotten extreme? Stand by! You ain't heard nothin' yet!

On the other hand, from 2015 on should also bring on more meaningful communications. Who knows…that old ‘men shouldn’t have feelings’ thing (which is a lot of bunk anyway) may just get jettisoned. And if nothing else, this should herald a boon in the areas of poetry, theater, music and literature…which isn’t all bad.

Meanwhile, wherever Aldebaran is in your chart, it signifies an area of life where having integrity is vital. Any planet connected to Aldebaran shows the ‘vehicle’ through which you will tend to act out your integrity challenges and be challenged to uphold standards of integrity.

Of course, the flip side of this would also be true, though I've never heard it talked about in astrology texts. (That means, take this to be something I have witnessed in the workings of charts.) Whatever house Aldebaran is positioned in natally, that is likely to be the arena or 'department of life' you will hear Aldebaran operating in. Here would be the roughest of rough lists in that regard...

1st house: personal actions

2nd house: personal values

3rd house: personal mentality

4th house: boundaries (personal, family, national, cultural, economic)

5th house: personal effort

6th house: personal morality and ethics

7th house: interactions with others

8th house: fairness (with self and others)

9th house: media, education, foreign influences

10th house: societal standards, commerce

11th house: social or economic transacting

12th house: compassion, empathy, vulnerability

Because Mercury is ruler of Gemini, wherever house and sign Mercury occupies in your natal chart, that will also count.

Though it’s more likely that transits to Aldebaran and/or any planet strongly aspecting Aldebaran in your natal chart are what will set off ‘integrity issues.’ transits to your natal Mercury and (yes,) by transiting Mercury flirt with Aldebaran issues.

If you know astrology and how fast Mercury moves, that means life is filled with challenges to, tests of and rewards for our integrity.

It also highlights – and this seems to me the really interesting part (yes, I just accept the rest as a given!) that since Aldebaran moved into Gemini way back when in the year 1298…that really was the beginning of a vast shift on the part of everyone living on this planet from centuries of focus on the purely tangible. Back when Aldebaran was in Taurus – the constellation Aldebaran is actually in, loss of integrity often meant a very real death, even if you were a king or queen. The integrity of food (food being a Taurus thing) was just about the most important thing around.

Now, with Aldebaran in Gemini, things have changed. We’ve left the era of Taurean integrity meaning literal (corporeal, tangible) survival and entered centuries upon centuries of our intellect (intelligence, word, communication) being the means by which we survive. ‘I stand by my word’ is a very Aldebaran in Gemini sort of statement.

As Aldebaran has moved degree by degree through Gemini’s first (physical) decanate, our word being our deed has come to be understood as a literal comprehension that what we do can mean someone’s life. Just as an engineer. Or a doctor. Or a teacher, politician or parent.

And as we move forward, who thinks life is going to get simpler? Nice dream…have you checked your email, text messages, twitter feed, mail box and in basket yet today? Life is going to be ever more complicated and filled with details. And we can’t avoid it, we can’t opt out of it…

…well, at least not without risking our Aldebaran reputation. That is – in the end – pretty much the link here. Integrity is reputation. Those who don’t follow through on what they should do (the accepted standard) end up being graded down – if not out of the game. So Aldebaran in Gemini is the need to do what you do well and to not scatter yourself all over the place, lest you do nothing well and end up damaging yourself (and your reputation and thus your Taurus/Aldebaran self-worth) in the process.

We’ve all seen the rate of information begin multiplying geometrically…exponentially, during our lifetime (or since 1938, depending on how old you are!). That it has is a rather fabulous example of another astrological precept which more or less can be summed up as ‘if the degree ends in a ‘9’’ (i.e., 9 degrees, 19 degrees, 29 degrees), figure that things will be intense.
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 A representation of binary data endlessly
multiplying in our newly founded information
age - image credit: W Rebel (2010)

 

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The astrological term used is generally ‘critical.’ But since that sounds a little harsh to the ordinary ear, intense works just as well. Since 1938, the year when Aldebaran moved into 9 Gemini, information (a Gemini thing) has been multiplying at a simply astounding rate. It’s like…intense out there!

And trying to keep up? Who can keep up with the rate of information these days?

That’s just the point. We can’t. We have to CHOOSE – and that’s probably the biggest ‘integrity’ lesson anyone can come to in the world of Gemini. You can’t have it all, you can’t know it all, you can’t do it all. You have to choose. Wherever Gemini is in your chart, that’s the area where you have to make choices. And when you don’t choose – when you aren’t willing to deal with that voracious thing in your head which just spins out of control “wanting it all”? Then nothing in that area does you well. You end up suffering from a loss of reputation, a loss of respect from others and a loss of opportunities.

If you’re of a mind to try and ‘beat’ the fixed star system, be my guest. But be forewarned: these stars were picked out of the night sky for their brilliance by the ancient Babylonians (the pre-Persians, you might call them). Brilliance, in metaphysical terms means ‘important.’

Personally, I’m very into Aldebaran. I’ve seen this star work for better and for worse, causing me to suggest that running afoul of Aldebaran can make for some seriously spectacular falls from grace.

Because Aldebaran is part of the constellation of Taurus, no matter where it is zodiac-wise, it calls upon us to remember that in the end we cannot be happy unless we respect ourselves.

That's what integrity is really about. Yes, it matters how you treat others. But that's because in the end, you have to be able to live with your Self. This one idea is why those old sayings like 'money can't buy you love' and 'beauty is only skin deep' are oh-so true.

It pays us well to keep our Aldebaran quotient in good order, not because others will like us better (they may or may not, depending on their Aldebaran!) but because we will know we have done what we know is right, is true...is real.

So that’s Aldebaran. Next up would be Regulus, the royal - and fixed - star which twinkles on us from above as part of constellation Leo.

The current plan is for these Royal Star posts to come up on succeeding Saturdays. (Which would be Saturday as it arrives in the Pacific Zone where I reside). So barring some giant event that I feel totally compelled to comment on, you'll see a piece on Regulus here next Saturday.

Until then, may your life be filled with integrity!
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